A Reunion
by 9r7g5h
Summary: Remembering your past lives can be a real bitch. But, sometimes, a reunion with some old friends can help with that.


**AN:** Know it's not my best work, but the idea has been bugging me for a long time, so I just had to get it out. Plus, I kept getting interrupted by stuff while I was trying to write, so la grrr. But oh well. I hope you guys still enjoy, at least a little bit.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Xena.

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Mattie had never been religious. It had just never appealed to her, the bowing and the praying and the "holier than thou art" attitude so many people had. It had seemed more of an annoyance than anything else. So, once she had been old enough to make her own decisions, she had cut ties with the faith her parents had raised her in and started her own version- one based around herself and what she could get done without some imaginary god's or goddess's help.

Now that she knew for a fact that there wasn't just one god, but dozens, that every god and goddess that had been worshiped throughout history actually existed, she was reconsidering her position.

It was weird, having more than one set of memories. She still had all of her own, thank god. Or gods. Whichever. She could still remember her parents, her older brother and two younger sisters, the house where they had all grown up. She remembered the old blue car her father had driven into the ground, the smell of her mother's perfume she only wore on Saturday. She remembered the family dog, a husky named Princess, who had died when she was twelve. She remembered her first boyfriend, her first girlfriend, her first datemate, going to and dropping out of college after a year when her program was canceled. Meeting Marco, setting up the past life scam- she remembered it all.

But she also remembered Greece. She remembered the adventure and the pain, the friendship and love and occasional hatred that popped up within her life. Remembered being a princess, a queen, and Mattie was sure, if she picked up a staff or a pair of sais, they would fit in her hands as perfectly as a pen. She remembered packed taverns, coins falling at her feet to pay for her tales. She remembered traveling, seeing the world, all in a cocoon of love.

She remembered Japa, and the heartache that came with it. Remembered the feel of a kill, someone's life leaking away by her hand. Remembered children, four of them in all: a boy whose name made her heart hurt, a little girl she hated and loved and mourned in so many equal measures. Another girl who went from infant to young woman in a single sleep, who was so dark to almost be lost, though she at least came back with their love. And another boy, conceived and born only because his sire had had the right shade of blue in his eyes, the same blue that had been haunting her dreams for years. A boy who grew up to be a man she was proud of, who carried on her legacy, their legacy of love and protecting the weak, well.

And those eyes. She remembered those eyes well, better than she knew even her own. And she loved them.

And even though his eyes were brown instead of blue, she still saw them in Harry.

 _Harry_.

If Mattie was honest, she had thought him a bit strange looking when he had first walked in with Annie in tow. Almost like a turtle, really. Not the type she normally went for, but cute enough, in a way.

And now, despite only knowing him for a few hours, Mattie knew, if he just asked, she would be his. She would be his before the words were out of his mouth, because, in a past life, she already had been.

She already was, as insane as it was to think, much less believe. But their souls were mated, destined to be together throughout time, and so it just was.

So it was strange, having so many memories that were hers and yet not, that belonged to a her that was from long ago. A her who had lived and loved and died long before her current life had existed. It was strange and weird and just overall a mess, leaving her head swimming and her feelings towards a man she had just met utterly beyond understanding.

Leaving Harry at her office had almost been a relief, for at least the distance would allow her to think, to try and sort through the multitude of everything that had assaulted her. It would let her try and figure everything out, make a decision without it being a rash judgement on her part.

A little time alone with her and herself was exactly what she needed.

Except, the moment she opened the door to her apartment, Mattie quickly became aware of three things that meant she was not, in fact, going to get the alone time she desperately craved.

The first was the color- pink, pink, and more pink had taken over her normally multicolored living room, covering the mismatched chairs and pillows and rugs she had collected over the years to create a single wall of pink. It was almost terrifying, how much pink had popped into existence with only one explanation she could think of but still couldn't believe.

The second was the smell. Chocolate and vanilla, roses and daisies, and some weird combination of the unknown that was both arousing and innocent, all of it mixing together in an utterly delectable way that made no sense. She wanted to sink into it and struggle against it at the same time, fight whatever was pulling her in while giving in to its gentle, almost loving caress. It made her almost as dizzy as the rush of memories had earlier, leaving her standing there, stunned, as she fought to regain her senses.

The third was the pink bikini-clad woman standing in her living room, a bottle of rosé in one hand, the box set of _Cheers_ season one through seven in the other, her eyes tearing up as she took in the sight of her.

Mattie barely had time to question the goddess in her living room before she found herself poofed onto the couch, her clothes replaced with a set of comfortable pink pajamas, Aphrodite curled into her side with her head on her shoulder as the first episode began to play.

As if this was normal, a common occurrence instead of something absolutely bizarre enough to get her committed. But hey, when it turns out you're the reincarnated soul of what almost counted as a superhero a couple thousand years ago, normal was a bit relative. So, Mattie didn't ask who she was, what she was doing, or how she had gotten into her house- all normal questions. Instead, she asked the major one that had been bugging her.

"How did you know I was going to remember?"

"I have an on-going arrangement with Michael," Aphrodite said, taking a sip of her wine and shrugging. "You're more likely to remember who you were in the lives when you and Xena are slated to be lovers. He tells me the odds, shows me who you'll be born as, and I keep an eye out. And in exchange, when the cosmos needs a couple to get jiggy with it, I pop in and help out. Sorry about Ar almost, you know, blowing you up."

"Well, you know," Mattie said back, imitating Aphrodite's speech pattern, nudging the goddess slightly and giving her a smile. "Xena managed to save the day again, so no harm done."

The two lapsed into silence, their short conversation the extent of the words they had to say to each other. For Mattie, it was all too much- just a few hours ago she had learned who she had been, and the recently remembered memories were almost too much to speak of.

For Aphrodite, who had been waiting almost two hundred years for her friend's soul to remember her (the last version, Janice, had been too stubborn to let the memories in, too stubborn to accept who she had once been for Aphrodite to feel comfortable contacting her, especially since, until her dying day, she had that gun by her side), words weren't needed. They had talked this over a dozen dozen times in the last three thousand years, and while it would take a while for her to remember it all, she would. Eventually.

So Aphrodite didn't need words, though she did say a few more.

"I missed you, Gabrielle."

"Missed you too, 'Dite."

Mattie spoke the nickname without a single thought, her arm wrapping around Aphrodite's shoulder as she watched the show.

It was a mess, having so many different memories that were and weren't yours running through your head. And she still had a dozen things she had to do- actually research reincarnation beyond what Marco had told her; now that she knew it was real, she wanted to actually help the people who had been coming to her. If she had been helping them, then great. But if not, she wanted to actually do something, find a way to let them really get in touch with who they used to be. Something she couldn't do while still pretending.

She had to make a decision about Harry, too. She knew he was going to break up with Annie, the poor woman, but their souls were meant to be together. But did she herself want that? Did she want a life with him, just because their souls demanded it? She had to think, had to make a real decision about how her life was going to go, now that she knew he was going to be in it, one way or another.

And she had to figure out herself. With so much going on in her head, she had no idea where it all fit into who she was as a person. Was she Mattie, the con artist who had been on the wrong side of the law quite a few times in her past? Or was she Gabrielle: the Battle Bard of Poteidaia, defender of the weak, companion and lover of Xena, the warrior princess, mother of little Alexander, who had gone on to become king? Who was she, really?

There was so much for Mattie to do, and yet she couldn't bring herself to pull away from the goddess leaning against her. It was nice, having a friend who had the answers right there, for when she was ready to ask for them.

"This is pretty grody, isn't it," Aphrodite asked, reaching up to touch Mattie's temple. As if she knew what the woman was thinking. "It'll calm down, in a few days. It always does. And in a few days, after we get through a few seasons of this, we can talk. Really talk, I mean."

"I'd like that."

Again, neither spoke, just cuddled closer on the couch, eyes fixed on the television, wine glasses in hand, as the mindless show pulled them into the world and lives of the characters.

And Mattie couldn't help but wonder how many times they had done this, how many times Aphrodite had been there to help her mind find its way onto the right path, but she was glad she did.

Mattie had been hoping for some peace and quiet, but perhaps a little reunion was in order first.


End file.
